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The books is split up into five sections- Japan, Korea, China, India and Southeast Asia. Personally, when I think of "Asian Pickles," my mind immediately lands on Korea because of the Korean cultural dish and mealtime staple, kimchi. I never knew that other Asian cultures had their own versions of "Asian Pickles."

From Japanese miso pickles (pg. 10) to Korean kimchi (pg. 46) to Indian pickled chilies (pg. 131), Asian Pickles by Karen Solomon is both informative and descriptive. The author not only goes into detail about the actual dishes, their history and their cultural significance, but she also manages to explain proper serving practices.

While the book tends to be more wordy, than pictorial, it is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the various Asian uses of pickled vegetables. I have not yet ventured into making my own dish of kimchi, but with the help of Asian Pickles by Karen Solomon, perhaps I just may...

***Disclaimer- "I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."***

Blame it on PBS superhero from the planet Lexicon, Word Girl, or Katy's general love of words, but Lil' Miss has become a human walking, talking dictionary. She has always LOVED to talk and she has always had a great vocabulary. Now, she's upped her game and not only does she use words like, "uber," "fantastic," "parched," "hydrated," in the correct context, but she now defines the words after she uses them! Ha!

For example, the last week I was on the phone talking to my mother. I told my mom that, "....Katy just devoured her lunch..." Katy chimed in and said, "Devour means to gobble up really, really fast!"

Another example, we were reading a book from the library and one of the words I read out loud was, "enormous." I paused to ask Katy if she knew what "enormous" meant. She then replied, "Enormous means the opposite of puny."

We were at my grandmother's apartment, this past week. Katy was running around, wreaking havoc on the place- asking about people pictured in the many frames she has laying around, asking where my grandmother had acquired the various knick-knacks strewn across her shelves, etc. Katy picked up a small porcelain world globe. My grandmother started to say, "Be careful, Katy- that globe is really fragile...." Katy then finished my grandmother's sentence and said, "I know, Grandma. Fragile means really, really breakable. I'll be careful."

Please, join myself and other moms/bloggers at this year's #WOWSummit 2014. The conference will take place in the ever-popular Orlando, FL Nov. 7-9, 2014.

Visit http://www.greenmomsmeet.com/summit2014-register for more information and to register for this great event! (Remember, if you register to go BEFORE July 31, you'll get a reduced rate of $75 AND be entered into a drawing to win tickets to Walt Disney Resort! :-)

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

"Hello, my name is Heather. I am Asian and I cannot for the life of me cook palatable Asian food (I make a mean Italian meatball, though!)!!"

There.

I said it.

My secret is out. ;-P

I'm so bad at cooking Asian that I don't even own a wok (nor do I want one, either).... ha!

It's not as if I don't LIKE Asian foods- I especially LOVE Korean and Thai- I just seem incapable of getting the meat "just so," and the sauces, "just right." I once ruined making a whole dish of fried rice. *sigh!*

However, I've got another little secret to share with you, today... With the help of WORLDFOODS fusion of flavors sauces, I am now able to fake a pretty good Pad Thai or Panang Chicken. Yum!!

"WORLDFOODS is a legendary pioneer in the Fusion and Asian food industry. For over twenty years they've been developing recipes using 100-percent natural ingredients. By combining traditional herbs and spices they create fusion flavors that fit perfectly in the kitchen of a culinary connoisseur on an everyday family. Each of their sauces is crafted by a team of master chefs, nutritionists, market researchers, food tasters, and everyday ordinary users to find the perfect balance of quality and flavor."

Just the facts:

• WORLDFOODS only uses authentic herbs and spices along with 100-percent natural, fresh ingredients to create each of its unique flavors.

• Currently the brand offers 65 different sauces, dips, and marinades all inspired by the tastes of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, China, and India.

• These sauces are perfect for individuals with dietary constraints. Each of their products are allergen and gluten free!

We've been without a working refrigerator for the last week and a half.... in hot, humid July... over Fourth of July Weekend... It's a long story....

Anywho, needless to say, we haven't been cooking much in the past week and a half. So, once our fridge was FINALLY fixed (for the SECOND time!!), I went grocery shopping and decided it was the perfect opportunity to test out our samples of WORLDFOODS Fusion of Flavors Sauces. Specifically, I tried out the Thai Creamy Chili Kaffir Lime Cooking Sauce.

WORLDFOODS Fusion of Flavors Sauces is SOOO easy to use. Really! Just chop up your veggies and meat, saute/cook and then finish off by pouring in the sauce. Serve over rice and- ta da!- That's it! Dinner is served! Other than the sauce, no weird, unusual ingredients needed- everything can be bought at your normal, local grocery store. You don't even need a fancy wok, or fancy cooking equipment- just a stove and pan. Simple. I like that.

Lil' Miss was a willing sous chef.*

From start to finish, this dish probably took about 20 minutes to prepare. That's from the time I put the rice in the rice cooker, chopped veggies to when I plated and served. Love that! Perfect for busy weeknight dinners.

Personally, I found the dish a bit bland. Hubby and I like things SPICY!! So, speaking from a scoville standpoint, the sauce was a bit disappointing. Thai food should be spicy. There is such a thing as "Thai Spicy." Just sayin'. We added some fresh habaneros from our garden to the dish to kick it up a notch. ;-P

However, the lack of spice, isn't to say that the dish was not flavorful. Lil' Miss enjoyed the chicken (in the WORLDFOODS Thai Creamy Chili Kaffir Lime Cooking Sauce). She doesn't like things quite as spicy as Mommy and Daddy, so it was just right for her tastebuds.

Bon Appetit!

Dinner is served!

Overall, this was a great product to try and review! Lot's of fun and a great, quick way to get dinner on the table. Thank you, Moms Meet for giving us the opportunity to try out WORLDFOODS Fusion of Flavors sauces!

Would you like to try WORLDFOODS Fusion of Flavors sauces for yourself? Just go to worldfoods.com.my/wf/coupon/index.php to snag a $1 off coupon.

*Lil' Miss was fully supervised while cooking over the stove. She was safe and free from harm. She's been in the kitchen helping me cook since she was a wee babe! :-)

**Disclaimer-I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetsSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Medai Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Happy BIRTH Day to my newest little niece, Margaret "Maggie" Caroline Coyle. Until I get official photos of the newest pair of chubby cheeks, I leave you with pictures Katy took of Maggie's namesake and favorite dolly, "Maggie."

Doll baby Maggie goes EVERYWHERE with us! She's a regular "member" of our family. As soon as we found out the name of the real Maggie, it was goodbye Lukey (former name- after my nephew, Luke) and hello, Maggie!

Maggie, chilling with Daddy.

Princess Maggie

Maggie with glasses.

Can't wait to meet the newest member of the Coyle Family! Congratulations, Hope and Eric (and big sis, Molly, and big bro, Luke)!!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

This morning, we got an unexpected phone call from our local branch library. They were calling to inform us that Katy had won the weekly drawing for their children's summer reading program titled, "Fizz, Boom, Read!" Every week, children can submit a book review for a weekly prize.

Well, looks like Lil' Miss was the big winner, this week! She was SOOOOOooo excited to win her bag full of goodies! (and it was not a small little trinket- it was a bag full of toys- glow ball, frisbee, water bottle, slinky, etc.) Her favorite loot? That robotic hand grabber thing- HA! Go figure! Either way, I'd say it's still say it's a win for reading!

Friday, July 4, 2014

The other night, Ted had just gotten home from work. As always, Katy was excited to see him and she greeted him at the door with a big hug. Then, she exclaimed, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!! Guess what?? I've got something uber, uber, uber exciting to tell you!!" We promptly forgot what the "news" was, but we definitely got a chuckle out of her excitement and use of, "uber."

I have no clue where she heard that one....!

*Update- At last night's Fourth of July fireworks, Katy yelled over the commotion to tell us that the fireworks display was, "....uber, uber COOL!!"

**Disclosure-I received these products complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster.**

#TLCVoxBox

I received my very first VoxBox from Influenster! I'm always up for a box full of goodies to try out and spread the word.... how fun!Included in my #TLCVoxBox were the following items:-Shell #FuelRewards card and program information-#PassthePuffs sample pack of tissues-#AvonANEW Reversalist Complete Renewal Express-Ivory bar of soap #SudLife - Ready to go Neosporin #NeoReady- Coupons for Breyer's #GelatoLove Hands down, my favorite item to try out was the Breyer's gelato! If you notice, the coupons failed to make it to the picture (above). ;-P We tried out the Raspberry Cheesecake flavor and it did not disappoint. YUM!!

Breyer's #GelatoLove

Lil' Miss confiscated the sample pack of Puffs tissues. She likes to carry them around in her purse. They've come in handy more than once while we were out and about and needed something for a runny nose and/or to clean up a mess- multi-purpose, I tell you!

The Neosporin is so handy with it's "to go" packaging. Thankfully, I haven't had the opportunity to try it out, but I love the fact that I can throw it in my purse, put it in the car first aid kit, etc. and always have it when I need it most.

We celebrated the day with a cute new outfit made by your's truly and a patriotic hometown parade. It was sunny and hot and the crowds were out in masses, but Lil' Miss had a great time collecting candy from the many floats. She did NOT like when the fire engines sounded off their sirens (of course, all the other kids seemed to want them to sound the sirens MORE! LOUDER!). However, she did like waving to all the beauty pageant winners ("princesses," she referred to them) and scrambling for the thrown candy.

After the parade, we traded traditional hamburgers and hotdogs for a nice Thai lunch.... ;-P

During the last full week in June, Katy was able to take part St. James Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School (VBS). This is the same church where Katy goes to Preschool during the year. So, it was a perfect transition for her.

The theme of the week was Cokesbury's Workshop of Wonder- imagining and building with God. Katy had a great time and didn't bat an eye when it was time for her to go with her class to all of the VBS stations (Games, Crafts, Music and Story). The children created a patchwork quilt for the church, planted some herbs, made a picture frame, necklace and several other crafts. Several of the kids from her Preschool class were also in her VBS class, so it was fun for her to catch up with her friends.

At the end of the week, the kids got up and sang for the parents. Of course, Lil' Miss didn't want to have anything to do with the singing (she told us that it was, "....too loud..."). Oh well! At least we know she had a good time throughout the week and her teachers told us she was well-behaved and engaged throughout. All in all, I'd say it was a successful first time at Vacation Bible School!